Earlier this week, DailyTech
reported that Intel is hard
at work on its next generation SATA II solid-state disks (SSDs). Intel's
Troy Winslow said in a CNET interview
that the next generation 80GB and 160GB multi-level cell (MLC) SSDs would most
definitely be faster than offerings currently sampling from Samsung.

Winslow was referring to Samsung's recently announced 128GB
SATA II SSDs which will begin shipping to customers during Q2. The drives use
MLC NAND technology and offer read/write speeds of 100MB/sec and 70MB/sec
respectively.

OCZ Technology is looking to throw its hat into the ring
with an ultra-fast SATA II drive of its own. Customers looking for high-speed
SSDs in 32GB and 64GB capacities will be happy to know that OCZ's new drives
will offer read speeds of 120MB/sec and write speeds of 100MB/sec thanks to speedier single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash.

"There are many benefits of solid state drive
technology over traditional disk drives including superior speed, reliability,
and power savings," said OCZ Technology Executive Vice President Alex Mei.
"Our newest SATA II drives are designed to further extend the advantages
of this technology offering enhanced performance for high-end mobile
solutions."

While the OCZ SSDs may be nothing more than Samsung units with
its name slapped onto the front, OCZ's offering will have a significant
advantage: retail availability. Samsung's 64GB SATA II drives are hard to come
by on the retail market unless you purchase a notebook that already has one
installed. OCZ's drive, on the other hand, will be available from a number of
online retailers.

OCZ claims the MSRP for the 32GB and 64GB drives are $599 and $1099, respectively. The drives will start appearing at retailers like Newegg in the coming weeks.

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